LILIUM --After Eternity--
by Kaze Miyamoto
Summary: "There are no flowers that bloom forever. Even the most beautiful flowers shall wither away." In this world, where there is no eternity, I find myself, once again, inside this illusion, trapped in a dream, and unable to wake up. *WARNING: There will be violence and blood, as well as death. There will also be a lot of emotional moments, and perhaps some slight smut.*
1. Prologue

_No flower blooms forever_

_Even those that are most beautiful_

_All of their beauty and life withers away_

_The brightest light eventually flickers and burns out_

_A heart that stops beating_

_Waking up from a dream_

_In this world_

_There is no "eternity"_

_We, who hold "immortality" in our hands_

_We, the brethren of "pure" blood_

_And once again_

_Again_

_I find myself_

_Trapped in an illusion_

_Sleeping for a thousand years_

_Unable to wake up_

...

No…

Don't go…

Don't leave me..!

Don't leave me alone!

_"****!"_

"NO!" I shot up from my bed, sharp intakes of air entering my lungs as I breathed in and out. Slowly, I steadied my heart rate as I focused and saw I was in my room.

_It was… a dream?_


	2. Act 1

**Chapter 1**

Again. I had that dream.

Again. She appeared before me.

_"****…"_ It was always so strange. I could see her lips, calling my name. But, I could never hear her voice. Just this ringing in my ears that shut off everything else from the world.

Another strange thing was, I didn't know her. I never saw her face, not even her eyes, but the tears that came down on her cheeks, I felt fall on my face. And her lips, those that looked so soft and delicate, like rose petals, mouthed my name.

Those were the last, and only things I remembered before I woke up. It was always like that. I knew I dreamt of more, I could feel so much pain. But, right when I opened my eyes, it disappeared. Only the feeling of my heart becoming tight, and the sight of her standing there.

I want to answer her, at least once. To ask, who are you, and, why do you keep appearing before me? But I can never find my voice. And before I realize…

It's already too late.

_*TAP* *TAP*_

Pebbles… The sound of small pebbles at my bedroom window woke me up from my daze.

_*TAP* *TAP*_

I slowly got up and opened the window. As I expected, there was Ayumi, standing there with her bike waiting for me outside.

"Hey, you finally up, sleepyhead?!" she screamed out at me. She was always so loud. "C'mon, Riho-chan! We're gonna be late!"

"Alright, I know! I'll be down as soon as I can, okay?!"

"Better hurry up!"

I closed the window and quickly ran down the hall to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and washed my face in a breeze. Morning's like these always get me fired up for later in the day.

After fixing my bed hair, I ran back to my room and changed into my uniform. A button-up white shirt with a short black skirt and matching ribbon, the school badge just at the crease of the tie. Nothing too fancy to think we're rich school girls, but simple enough that it makes us look cute and intelligent.

_*TAP* *TAP* *TAP*_

Again. Of course, if she was screaming, it'd most likely be, "Stop staring off into space!"

It was always a habit of mine. Whenever I'd be talking to people, I'd suddenly start to zone out without even noticing. So much, that even Ayumi's loud screams are unable to reach me.

I checked myself one last time before grabbing my bag and heading out.

"Took you long enough!"

"Sorry. I forgot to set my alarm clock."

"Excuses, excuses." We both giggled as she said that. She never got mad at me for oversleeping or dozing off when I'm supposed to be listening to her. She understood me.

"C'mon, let's just go!"

"Un!" She and I always walk to school together in the morning. No matter how long she waited on me, or no matter how loud her screams became as time passed, we never left each other.

She was one of my first best friends. It was already clear to me that I was different, and everyone thought I was weird. Yet, she never looked at me weirdly. She accepted me as her friend.

_"I don't care how weird you are. What I say is, the weirder, the better!"_

At first, I was a little shocked when she said that, but after she introduced me to Nakanishi-kun and Sakura-chan, I found there was kindness in her words as well.

"Oi~ Sakura! Nakanishi!"

Just up ahead were Nakanishi-kun and Sakura-chan, already standing at the entrance gate.

The two were clearly an item, that can be easily noticed by anyone. And knowing them, it was sweet. Even though Nakanishi-kun wasn't always the cool or suave type, Sakura accepted him flaws and all.

As for Sakura, she was like a princess to the school. She was perfect in almost every way. It really shocked, but also very much relieved Nakanishi-kun, that she accepted him to be her boyfriend.

"How's the lovely couple~?" Ayumi said as she pinched Nakanishi-kun's cheek, causing him to blush.

"I see someone's as hyper as usual. Put a lot of sugar in your cereal again, midget?"

"Hey! I am NOT a midget! I'm not even that much shorter than you!"

"You keep telling yourself that."

"Mou~"

The two of them didn't always get along. Whenever they fought, me or Sakura would always break them up before it got ugly. But still, they always managed to make up one way or another and remain friends for this long.

"Alright, you two, that's enough." Sakura said as she waved her hand in between them and stopped their argument.

"You two are getting along as usual, huh?"

"NO WAY!" They harmonized at my little joke and turned their heads away from each other.

"Ohayou, Sakura-chan."

"Ohayou, Riho."

...

Sakura has to go through a morning routine. After we got to school, she went for a daily check-up in the infirmary. Once before homeroom, and one afterschool.

As I said, Sakura was _almost_ perfect. She had a heart condition. It's only been 3 weeks since she was discharged from the hospital and allowed to come back into school, but she still had to take medicine and didn't participate in sports or physical activities.

The three of us just waited outside the infirmary for her as she had her check-up. As always, Ayumi and Nakanishi-kun would be arguing while I stared off into space. Sometimes, they'd snap me out of my trance to settle one of their arguments, but most of the time, they let me be if I was too far off in my world.

"I'm back." Sakura walked out of the infirmary with a smile. "Things went well."

"That's good to hear. The other day, you started coughing while we were talking on the phone, I got kinda worried."

"Aw~ you're too sweet, Kanato."

I smiled on the inside seeing them so lovey-dovey. I've never had a boyfriend myself, only a few crushes. I still don't know what it's like to be in love, so it makes me happy seeing them like this.

"Nee, Riho-chan, did you finish your homework for third period?"

"Oh no, don't tell me you fell asleep and forgot to do your work AGAIN, midget."

"I did NOT and stop calling me midget!"

"Why else would you ask if she did it unless you needed to copy off her? Hahaha."

"I wasn't. I was just asking. Nothing's wrong with that, right, Riho-chan?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Sayashi, please tell this midget she needs to do her own homework~."

"Riho-chan, tell this _klutz_ to stay out of other people's business, and DON'T CALL ME MIDGET!"

"Midget~~~"

"OK, that's it!" Ayumi grabbed his shoulders as he held one hand on her head and restrained her. The two were attracting attention. I stepped in between them and pulled them apart.

"Both of you, CALM DOWN! You're acting like animals!"

The two pouted and looked away from each other again.

"Speaking of which," Sakura brought up, "have you guys been reading about all these recent animal attacks?"

What? Animal attacks? I didn't hear about this.

I looked and saw Ayumi shiver as the thought of the attacks ran through her spine, and Nakanishi-kun just looked away as he bit his lip.

"Yeah, I heard about that."

"There's been a lot lately. I'm kinda worried."

"What attacks?" I asked them, awkwardly.

"You really live in your own world, huh, Riho-chan."

"No one knows what causes them. At first, everyone just thought it was a wild dog or a wolf, but the attacks become more violent and also frequent."

"I saw one picture on the news that showed a girl who was seen at one of the attacks. She was unconscious and covered in blood when the witness saw her, but when the police and doctors got there, she was gone. Left without a trace."

I shuddered a bit at that thought. That **is** scary.

"Don't worry! Us students of Kuran Academy have the best protection we can get!"

"Yeah. Besides, Ishida, you're so small, I'm sure you can slip out if you get cornered by one! Hahahaha!"

"Hey, I thought I already told you, I'm NOT that short!"

I sighed, seeing them fight. They really are hopeless.

"Guys, please, calm d-"

Just then… I smelled something.

A gentle scent… It was….

"The scent of lilies…"

"Eh?"

"What'd you say, Sayashi?"

I felt a cool breeze and looked to the right. There, walking past me, was a girl with long, silky black hair. I only saw her back, not her face.

But, something inside me tugged. It pulled my chest and I felt a familiar tinge of pain from somewhere. Something told me, I _had_ to see her.

My feet just moved on their own and went in her direction. Even when Ayumi and the others called to me, I ignored them. I just kept following her, trying to find her. I finally caught up and saw her standing in front of my classroom door, talking to a teacher.

_Is she… a transfer student?_


	3. Act 2

**Chapter 2**

"So, this will be your classroom from now on. If you need anything, you can always ask me or report to the class officer. Your seat will be at the back of the class. I hope that isn't a problem, but, we don't normally get any transfer students at this time of year."

Even with the teacher talking, it feels like the only people are me and her. That girl, whose face I haven't seen, whose voice I haven't heard. And yet, I was attracted to her somehow.

I saw her head turn slightly as she looked at her desk. It was at the far corner in the very back, just beside the window.

"Near the window…"

"Oh, that's right. Where you come from, it was always rainy, wasn't it? Well, if you find yourself weak to the bright sunlight, just say the word and we'll figure something out."

"Yes."

I took a step forward, my hand reached up slowly to touch the girl's shoulder. I didn't know why, but I didn't speak up, even though I felt my lips shaking to relieve the choking sensation in my throat…

"Ah, Sayashi-kun!"

At that moment, the girl suddenly whipped her head back and looked at me.

After that, time seemed to stop in that moment. I was left staring at her in awe. I was amazed at her beauty, her face…

Again, I felt a tinge of pain. Pain that I only felt once before, but it went away so quickly, I could never figure out why. My eyes reflected off hers, both of us looking at each other for what seemed like countless hours. Her eyes… They were so dark, so deep… I could get lost in them forever…

"Pretty…" I finally found my voice.

Time started once again and a confused look appeared on her face. "Eh?"

"..Ah! Pretty! Y-your eyes! They're… Th-they're very pretty."

"Oh… Thank you."

"Um, just so you know, I wasn't creeping up on you. I just saw you and didn't know who you were, so I got curious and followed you. I-I'm not a bad person, it's just…"

"You don't know who I am?"

_Eh? Wait, am I supposed to know?_

"Riho!" I looked behind me and saw Ayumi, Sakura, and Nakanishi-kun had already caught up to me. "There you are. Why'd you run off?"

"Are? Who's this?" Ayumi said, pointing at the transfer student.

"Ah, sense you guys are already here, I'll introduce you. This is Wada Ayaka. She came here all the way from Europe and transferred to our school."

"Europe? No way, that's so cool!"

"Is that where Transylvania is?"

"Uh, I doubt that's where she's from, you scatterbrain."

"Don't get me started, hot head."

"Hot head?!" Ayumi's face turned bright red as Nakanishi-kun started laughing harder than ever, holding his stomach.

"Guys, can we not have ANOTHER argument, especially in front of a new student?"

"Fine~" They both harmonized as they crossed their arms.

I turned to Ayaka and smiled at her. I saw her cheeks blush a bit as she looked away from me shyly. Ah, that's so cute.

"So, Wada-san, that's pretty cool that you're from Europe." I said as I took her hands in mine, watching her eyes widen a bit. "I'm Riho. It's nice to meet you."

"Riho…"

"I sit…" I pulled her closer to the center of the room and sat down in my desk. Right in the middle, where I'm close enough to see the board and surrounded by everyone else. "Right here."

She stared at my desk for a long time before turning back to the teacher.

"Sensei, I want to sit there," she said pointing at the desk right next to me.

"Eh?"

"Ah, there? Hm… Well, I may have to discuss it with the board. Such a sudden change might-"

"Sensei."

Now, this was a sight. I've never seen someone negotiate with him like this. He was always a hard case, in particular, and some students would go to incredible lengths to get him to agree.

But she…

"Look me in the eye." I couldn't see her face or her eyes, but the teacher's face told me that she was probably giving a really intense gaze. "I want the desk beside Sayashi-san. I think I will be more comfortable there."

"…Y-yes. You're right."

_No way. She actually did it!_

"From now on, your seat will be beside Sayashi-kun. I will go make arrangements now." He left the room with a blank look on his face. Ayumi's jaw had dropped instantly and Nakanishi-kun's face was indefinite.

"Holy crap. I can't believe you actually cracked that nut! It takes a LOT to get to him."

"Really? I just told him the truth, that's all."

"You really are something else, Wada-san."

Ayaka simply shrugged it off and sat down in her new desk, right beside me. She pulled out a book and didn't speak another word, remaining silent until it was time for class.

...

I couldn't help but look over and see so many of the students surrounding Ayaka, curiously asking her questions.

"Nee, Wada-san, what's it like over there in Europe?"

"It's often cloudy, so I don't get a lot of sunlight."

"I heard it rains a lot where you lived, right? How did you deal with weather?"

"It was easy to forget about the rain."

Ayumi and the others looked with me. It was amazing how she could keep such a straight face with all those people surrounding her.

"Wada really is a cool girl, huh?"

"C'mon, let's go talk to her, too!" Sakura insisted.

"Riho-chan, you coming?"

"Uh, yeah."

We all got up and walked over to Ayaka's desk as the other girls talked.

"So, hey, Wada-san," Ayumi started, "Say, y'know, you're really pretty. Like your hair is so long and straight. How do you get it like that?"

"It's always been like that."

"Eh~? You sure you don't use any special shampoo or anything?"

"No."

"Seriously, though," Ayumi stroked her hair in her hands and smelled of it. "It smells so good. And so soft~"

"Ayumi-chan, I think you're freaking her out," Sakura said.

"It's okay. I don't mind." Ayaka said as she continued reading her book. It made me wonder if she was even paying attention…

_Huh… That's kinda like how I get._

"And your skin is nice, too. It's so tan, and," Ayumi touched her hand and suddenly jumped back. "..Cold. You're freezing."

Ayaka moved her hand away and shrunk away from Ayumi, holding her hand.

"Are you sick? Maybe running a fever?"

"No. It's just… poor blood circulation."

"Ah, sou…"

Just then, Sakura started coughing. She would get like this sometimes, even when she properly took her medicine. Coughing, fainting spells, bruising. It was almost as if she was cursed.

"Are you okay, Oda-san?" Ayaka asked.

"I… I think I need to.. go to the infirmary…" she said in between her coughs.

Ayaka smiled and stood up from her seat, placing a bookmark where she stopped reading before closing her book. "I'll take you."

"Okay."

I watched as Sakura and Ayaka left the room together. I decided to go to check up on them and excused myself from the classroom.

As I made my way to the infirmary, I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw Sakura was leaned up against the wall, holding her chest. Ayaka was standing in front of her and staring deep in her eyes.

_What is she doing?_

Slowly, Ayaka's hand moved up and she bit her finger, making it bleed. She then put it up towards Sakura's lips and let her suck on her finger, drinking her blood.

When she was done, Ayaka said something to her I couldn't hear, and she just nodded and walked to the infirmary. Confused, I walked up towards Ayaka and tapped her shoulder.

"Hey, Wada-san."

"Riho?"

"Um, what happened with Sakura-chan earlier? Did something-?"

"You saw?" She shrunk away again and I saw her finger.

"You're bleeding. Come on, I'll get a bandage for-"

She suddenly grabbed my shoulder and pushed me towards the wall, staring at me intensely.

"W-Wada…-san?"

"Look into my eyes, Riho."

I looked up and my eyes instantly locked on hers. They seemed darker and more intense than ever. It made my heart jump a bit.

"You will forget you saw anything." She spoke in a monotone voice.

"Eh…?"

"You won't remember anything."

"Wha.. What are you talking about, Wada-san?"

_That's weird… Her eyes… They…_

She backed away from me, a confused look on her face.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"It didn't work?" I heard her mumble softly to herself.

"Huh?"

She shook her head and started walking away, but my hand acted on its own and grabbed her hand.

"Hey… if something's wrong, just tell me. You can trust me, okay? You're my friend."

"I am..?"

"Yes. Now, let's go. We need to take care of…" I looked at her hand and saw her finger was no longer bleeding. I check her other hand, but no wound. No blood. "But how?"

"It's fine, Riho." She said as she pulled away from me. "You were just imagining things."

"But I could've sworn-"

"It's fine!"

I suddenly stopped. Again, my throat felt choked. I've never felt like this with someone. I don't even think I've ever fought with a friend before.

She turned to look at me again, her eyes staring into mine.

"Everything's okay. Just forget about it."

"I…"

She gave me a soft smile before turning and heading outside to the courtyard. I held my chest, a strange feeling had washed over me when I remembered how she looked at me.

_Her eyes… looked so sad._


End file.
